TESTIMONIALS
We have an amazing community of people at Living Yoga that have generously shared their thoughts and experience of yoga with you. Read what others have to say about their yoga journey. EnJOY!
I have been attending classes for the last few weeks. I am a physician with Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora and have been practicing yoga for a few years. I used the practice as an adjunct to my martial arts and weight training and only now see the true worth of yoga. With the death of my mother, life pulled me into a different direction of healing. I met Deepak Chopra during a conference in Chicago and after listening to him, felt my Dharma or purpose in life was to continue healing but adding a spiritual intention. Conventional insurance based medicine is grounded mostly on pharmaceutical and surgical intervention. Awesome at times, necessary in an emergency but the nutritional and spiritual aspects of healing are ignored. What I am learning now with the Chopra Center and Andrew Weil are ways to integrate ancient wisdom into contemporary healing.
The reason I write to you is for praise. There are many yoga studios that are introducing the community to an hour of stretching or 90 minutes of intense heat and poses. I have friends that teach and own these places and all are excellent. Of all the places I have dropped in throughout, Living Yoga in Aurora IL has continued to teach what I consider the true healing art of yoga practice. In the ancient language of sanskrit, yoga comes from a root word meaning to "yolk", or bring together the elements of mind, body and spirit. The way the instructors at Living Yoga introduce not only the correct ways to allow one's body to perform a posture but the concept of "listening" to what your body says it needs or dislikes is amazing. The student will be taken through the same asana's that have been practiced for up to 5000 years and incorporate a message or a teaching to help with staying healthy even after the class is finished.
The majority of visits to a doctors office are stress induced; poor immunity and infection, depression, high blood pressure, insomnia, inflammation and weight gain. I can always write a prescription for the above diseases and with todays pharmaceutical industry, there will be a drug for every ailment. The problem is I would be bypassing the most effective healing available to mankind, one's own body. Even in the diagnosis of cancer there is use for mind, body and spiritual healing. In most families, there will be the miraculous story of one person who made a major lifestyle change and cured herself of the disesase of was able to get off his medicines. As a society, we have to create more of these successes. I have recommended many of the patients seen at the emergency room to add a visit to Living Yoga as part of their treatment. In this time of stress, weight gain and poor health I believe the teachers at Living Yoga in Aurora are the "cure" for what many are suffering from. I have personally felt healing with just my first class several weeks ago and have signed up for more learning. You have a very good "service" you are offering to the community, please continue on!
- Enrique Saguil, MD
A healthy mind and body have always been important goals for me. I have a well-educated mind and have been a runner off and on for many years. Breathing correctly when running has always been a significant challenge, however. One day I came to the realization I didn’t breathe correctly or frequently during the day. Sometimes I found myself actually holding my breath. This was a rather scary thought. As a middle school teacher, wife, and mother, the day comes at me very quickly and I am a sponge for the issues, concerns, and problems of everyone in my life. The bottom line….I was not breathing. I needed to get in touch with something deeper inside that I had not taken much time to nurture in the past; my spirit. Yoga has allowed me to take time each week to clear my mind so I can nurture my spirit and breathe. It has given me tools I can utilize whenever life becomes overwhelming. Breathing is now an important daily goal for me. But there are other benefits. My posture is improving as is my strength, flexibility, and self-esteem. I feel well guided by the knowledgeable instructors at Living Yoga. I have been challenged and nurtured by these talented individuals all at the same time. At Living Yoga our instructors often thank us for taking the time for yoga practice. I always giggle to myself at these times because I see my yoga practice as a reward for the hard work of daily living.
- Donna Wetta
I've worked in a demanding, stressful environment throughout my working career and never made consistent exercise a priority. Over the years, my release was to chill out at various destination spas. I always took advantage of the yoga classes offered. However, I didn't quite fit in because I wasn't moving into the poses correctly nor was I experiencing the true benefit of yoga. After I had a milestone birthday, I decided to treat myself to weekly private yoga classes at Living Yoga. It's been over two years since I've been practicing yoga and I can honestly say my life has changed dramatically.
Claudine Beeson, my yoga instructor at Living Yoga, is truly gifted. She moves my body ever so slightly to get me in the right position for each pose and knows when I'm ready to raise the bar for more difficult poses. Claudine customizes each session based on my individual needs and varies my routine so I don't get bored. Since I am competing with myself, I can move at my own pace. I now feel centered, grounded, more flexible, possess sharper concentration and enjoy a renewed sense of well being. I also attribute my yoga classes with helping me cope with the stroke my husband suffered last year. What began as an indulgence has turned into a necessity for living well. My only wish is that I had started practicing yoga 30 years ago!
- Selma Schohn, Retired Corporate Executive
I was suffering from the assortment of aches and pains that come with middle age! I was looking for alternatives to high-impact physical activities. Despite being Indian by birth, I had never tried yoga. The initial impetus came from my wife who felt that yoga would be able to provide the “exercise-induced rush” that I was craving, albeit in a form more suitable to my current physical state.
My profession, as a teacher and a researcher, requires me to be aware of my mental abilities and limitations. Yoga provides a nice counterpoint by providing a glimpse of a more holistic integration of body and spirit. At the risk of sounding clichéd, one might even say that yoga provides a new and effective tool to be calm and manage the demands and complexity of life. Let us put it this way --- now, my family makes sure that I practice yoga regularly.
Claudine is a superb yogi. Arguably more importantly, she is excellent at imparting this knowledge to her students. Her pedagogical acumen, as reflected in her ability to deconstruct and simplify a pose or a routine, resonates with me as a teacher. Her unquestionable competence as a yogi is enhanced by her passion for her chosen profession. This wonderful combination permeates and enhances the Living Yoga studio experience. In these last 18 months, I have practiced with men and women, of varying levels of physical ability, yogic expertise, and age. What was common to this diverse group of students was that we all had a lot of fun.
- Radha J., Professor
I started taking yoga classes after a demo class that Mary gave for a Women's group at our church that we belonged to. I liked the demo and I think Mary was teaching an evening class at church about that time. It was about 10 years ago. I started going to her class at church, enjoying learning something new and learning to empty my mind and focus on breathing and what I was doing, not my "to do" list.
After Mary had to leave the church location I took some classes at a local gym but came back to Mary's class after she found a spot to teach. I like her class style of combining hatha and vinyasa yoga. Living yoga is a good fit, nice room and well equipped. Mary is my Yogi and I will follow her wherever she teaches.
- Caroline Etzkorn
When I entered Living Yoga one year ago, I was looking for physical and mental balance to counter the aging process and the stress of owning and managing my own business. I have found that and more at Living Yoga. While the group classes are an efficient and economical way to reinforce your yoga practice, it is my private lessons with Claudine that have opened new doors of balance, strength and peace. Namaste.
- Jim Meyers
Yoga was first suggested to me by my doctor to help with my stomach problems. I assumed yoga was just meditation, and not a strenuous workout. Therefore I didn't bother to try. Years later I was diagnosed with tennis elbow and my Orthopedic suggested yoga to build upper-body strength. I finally gave in and decided to try a class.
My first time I was so lost. I had no idea what any of the poses were including Downward Dog. The instructors would tell you to close your eyes and listen to the cues. I would cheat and keep opening them to figure out what I should be doing. Living Yoga was a great place to start, because the teachers are constantly helping the newbie’s with the poses. Three years later, they are still checking that I am not only challenging my body but correctly doing the poses. The practice always changes so I never know what to expect and never get bored.
The benefits from yoga are numerous. I have increased my flexibility. It is also a excellent way to tone muscles. There are many times I start the class with aches and pains and feel 100% better afterwards. I have increased my strength, which my tennis game has benefited. Not only do I see the physical changes but the emotional ones as well.
I am so grateful to have given yoga a try and find the wonderful instructors at Living Yoga to have played a huge part. I am a better person both physically and emotionally.
- Lisa Tyson
Here’s a letter from one of Claudine’s clients:
Dear Claudine,
Now that I have been your “student” for a few years, I would like to share with you how valuable yoga, as taught by you at Living Yoga, has become.
I initially got “into” yoga rather begrudgingly, as a result of my wife’s encouragement. I was in my mid-50’s and very much the opposite of limber. As you know, I couldn’t bend over and touch my toes. Heck, I couldn’t touch my ankles. Anyway, I was not happy with my lack of flexibility and knew that I had to do something.
I found your group classes to be enjoyable and not at all boring, which is what I dread in any physical fitness program. Your new studio is spacious and serene. The important thing that has amazed me for the entire time I’ve practiced with you, is your incredible knowledge of yoga, meditation, the human body, and what I would call “partnering for success.” The reason I started taking private lessons from you is because it really amazed me how just the slightest change in something as little as how your toes were pointed made a huge difference in how a pose would feel. With your one-on-one help I get the most out of every session.
There are two important skills I have been able to acquire from practicing with you. For quite some time now I have been able to not only bend over and touch my toes, but I can place my hands flat on the floor. Hey, it’s a big deal to me. The other skill I have acquired (and hope to advance) is the ability to relax when I want. The meditation classes you offer, combined with the breathing exercises inherent in all your teachings readily translate positively into my stressful daily life. I can’t tell you how nice it is to be able to consciously relax when I need to and touch my toes when I want to.
Claudine, I truly appreciate your sharing your expertise with me. I look forward to continuing to grow stronger and more flexible, with you and Living Yoga, in the future.
All the best,
Mark Blau
I started practicing yoga years ago because of a back injury.
The greatest benefit about yoga practice is that it helps me remain more flexible as I get older to counteract the stiffness from sitting all day long on the job.
I really enjoy Living Yoga because of the great teachers that have enabled me to experiment with various yoga styles through the wide-range of class offerings. At other times, it's been fun to try a non-traditional class like meditation or yoga with essential oils. Also, I have been taking private lessons with Claudine for a year. She's great! She customizes a weekly practice for me that has helped fine tune my yoga practice to a new level.
- Vivian B.
I was originally introduced to the idea of Yoga through a couple of books I was reading at the time. I began to research more about the practice and quickly learned of the large quantity of health benefits associated with it, whether it was physically, mentally, or spiritually. My very first class was three years ago with Claudine at Living Yoga when it was located in Downtown Naperville. I quickly incorporated the studio's classes into my weekly routine when I became aware of the incredible benefits I was receiving. I feel healthier and happier in my own body, my posture, flexibility, and mobility have greatly improved, and I have more control over breathing and relaxing my mind than I ever had before. In fact, Living Yoga has made such an impact on my life that it has inspired me to further my education by achieving a Yoga Teacher certification of my own. If you are looking to discover your inner self, increase your awareness, or even to greatly strengthen your core, Living Yoga is the place for you!